Thursday, August 16, 2007

Montessori Island School - Jersey Devil Design-Build

Says Beth Dunlop in the Oct 97 Architectural Record:

Jersey Devil [Design-Build] surfaces in the Florida Keys to design a small school that relies on natural ventilation and shading to stay cool...the brightly colored new Montessori Island School stands out in several ways. For one, it is the first institutional building for the nomadic design-build firm of Jersey Devil, which has earned its reputation and renown for handmade houses and public art installations. For another, this school in the tiny, historic town of Tavernier may be the first Florida school built without air-conditioning in well over three decades...To achieve its environmental goals, Jersey Devil used radiant barriers in the external walls, a vented roof, and vented eaves. Time-tested techniques, such as facing the building toward the prevailing southeastern trade winds and placing more windows to windward than leeward, also came into play here.

Another fruitful collaboration between Montessori education and organic architecture.